You never know what you are going to find in the Oxfam shop in Abingdon. Last weekend there was German typewriter. The top line does not read QWERTY as the Y and Z have been swapped. Letters with umlauts such as Ä, Ö and Ü have been added on the other side.

Nearby, the Oxfam shop also has a QWERTY typewriter.

As the centrepiece, on another table, there is a beautiful old Singer sewing machine.

In the next couple of weeks, when the date is confirmed, a jazz record enthusiast will be playing music in the shop and selling off some of his large collection to raise funds for Oxfam.

At St Nicolas Church in Abingdon on Saturday the Alzheimer’s Society had a jumble and craft sale with refreshments, and a lot of information about dementia.

From the pulpit I got a better view of the pew-top stalls. Towards the alter were clothes, and along the church, cards, and craft work, bric-a-brac, games, and books.

One lady told me about the fidget quilts she makes to provide tactile fun and hand activities. She does not normally sell them but gives them to community hospitals and care homes.

One of my first jobs was at Dickens Ward in Netherne Psychiatric Hospital near Coulsdon. I have strong memories of some of the people living there. There was one chap who spent a lot of his time feeling the contours and buttons and legs of the chair where he sat. He had been an upholsterer before retirement, and before the dementia robbed him of the ability to remember anything but some old memories.

The Alzheimer’s Society also had a couple of stalls on the Market Place, as did the Vale House who are specialists in caring for people with dementia, and supporting their families – far more innovative and caring than Dickens Ward.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is doing much work locally through our schools. As anybody who works in a school, or in a youth group, will know, child protection has been given far more attention in recent years.

Current NSPCC campaigns include keeping children safe online, preventing abuse, and rebuilding lives after abuse. The NSPCC also now runs childline.

Local NSPCC Volunteers were selling items in aid of NSPCC yesterday on the Market Place. The money raised will help child protection work to continue, locally and nationally. The national NSPCC website has more information.